Russian Laboratory Rassvet To Be Used For Bioscience
Experiments
Space shuttle Atlantis has delivered science experiments and a
new Russian laboratory to the International Space Station,
continuing the transition from station assembly to continuous
scientific research through the end of the decade. The
Russian-built Mini Research Module-1, also known as Rassvet (dawn
in Russian), will host a variety of biotechnology, biological
science, fluid physics and educational research experiments.
Rassvet was attached Tuesday morning to the bottom port of the
station's Zarya module.
Rassvet (Dawn) Module NASA Photo
The shuttle crew will conduct nine short-duration experiments
during the STS-132 mission and return samples from 16 space station
experiments. They will help enable nearly 130 long-duration station
experiments in biology, physical and materials sciences, technology
development, Earth and space science.
"The Mini Research Module-1 provides important new real estate
for experiments to be conducted on the space station and will be a
cornerstone of Russian laboratory facilities for years to come,"
said Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This new module
enhances the station's research capabilities and enables new
investigations to be performed."
The laboratory contains a pressurized compartment with eight
workstations equipped with facilities such as a glove box to keep
experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators
to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments and a
vibration isolation platform to protect payloads and experiments.
It also will be used for cargo storage.
The module contains four other workstations, complete with
mechanical adapters, to install payloads into roll-out racks and
shelves. On its exterior, Rassvet will piggy-back an experiment
airlock destined for use outside the final Russian module, named
the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, which is planned for launch in
2012.
ISS NASA Photo
The 2005 NASA Authorization Act designated a portion of the
station as a National Laboratory, accessible to other government
agencies, commercial entities and academic researchers.
Among the studies the STS-132 astronauts will conduct is the
ninth in a series of U.S. National Laboratory Pathfinder
experiments aimed at developing vaccines to fight disease-causing
bacteria. The commercial payload will study how several different
pathogenic organisms react to the microgravity environment.
Previous similar experiments led to development of a potential
vaccine for Salmonella bacteria that cause food poisoning. Approval
from the Food and Drug Administration is being sought for this as
an investigational new drug.
Another commercial National Lab pathfinder, Cells-4, will
examine cellular replication to determine the use of spaceflight to
enhance or improve cellular growth processes used in ground-based
research. The shuttle astronauts also will participate in a
first-of-its-kind Canadian experiment called Hypersole that aims to
determine how the sensitivity of the sole of the foot affects
balance control.
The shuttle crew delivered 10 experiments to the space station.
These include: Genara-A, a European experiment that looks at how
plants grow without gravity; Ferulate, a Japanese experiment to
study the strength of cell walls in microgravity; Cube Lab, a
low-cost, 1 kilogram platform for commercial and educational
projects; an experiment that studies the properties of colloids,
which are tiny solid particles suspended in liquid, in
microgravity; and the Smoke and Aerosol Measurement experiment,
which is a follow-on investigation to previous tests of smoke
detection technology.
Several experiments will return to Earth aboard Atlantis. Among
these are an European Space Agency experiment that will document
the nature and distribution of radiation inside the station and
create a method to measure absorption rates in biological samples;
the first samples of ceramic glasses produced in Space Dynamically
Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System, or SpaceDRUMS, which enables
samples of materials to be processed without ever touching a
container wall; samples of pharmaceutical quality intravenous fluid
produced for the first time in space; and the Canadian Space
Agency's Advanced Plant Experiment-CSA2, which compares the genes
and tissue of white spruce (Picea glauca) grown in space with those
grown on Earth to help forestry researchers understand the
influence of gravity on plant physiology, growth and wood
formation.